Reviews by Mrs

My opinions on this book seem to be in the minority and go against much of what has been said so I will accept that it is me that’s flawed and not the book.

I always listen to books whilst driving and I never have any problems following them. However this book proved a tricky number. The narrators mono-tone voice didn't help much either.

I am sure this book is a literary master piece as everyone is calling it. However it was lost on me. It seemed to keep skipping from one scene to another and I could never keep track of what was actually going on and how it was relevant to the story.

Another bugbear was the author beginning sentences with "He, Cromwell" when referring to Thomas Cromwell. I am sure it is a fancy literary thing which I don't get but it just seemed pointless to me.

I might buy the actual book and see if I have more luck reading it. But for the audio book I must say I found it extremely hard going and not enjoyable.

A book for the more literate and well read perhaps and definitely not to be listened to during a long drive.

First of all ill cover the narrator. It's not that bad people. I understand that changing it is a bit unsettling, but I'm glad that I no longer have to listen to Renna's Irish/Glaswegian accent and the others. The new narrator has added a maturity to book with I think was needed. 2 chapters in and I hardly noticed, by the end I preferred the new fella.



As for the book, it was great, the characters have developed a little and there is more complexity and depth to the overall demon world, again this was severely lacking in the first book



One thing that really grinded my gears was the ending. I'm not going to give anything away, but it left me feeling empty and a little short changed. However a little research has shown that this series is not going to be a trilogy but made in to 5 books. All is forgiven for the time being.



Overall if you read and liked the first two books you will be pleased with this.

This book is even better than the first.



A bit more going on in it, still simplistic in it's style but that hardly matters. I wouldn't bother listening to this book without reading the first though. While the author has done his best to explain much of what went on in the first you would be missing out.



I look forward to the listening to the 3rd in the series.



If you like a bit of fantasy I don't think you will be disappointed with this book.

This book is the opposite from Les Miserable (the last book I read). The style of writing and the actual story are extremely simple, there are few twists and the characters are quite flat. If it wasn't for reference to the odd rape and sex I would say it was bordering on a child’s book. A little less 'he said, she said' and a few better metaphors and descriptions would go a long way. That said I really enjoyed it. It was a pleasure to listen to it and had me looking forward to my drive in to work. It isn't a literary master piece but I don't suppose it was ever supposed to be. I can see it being made in to a movie in the near future, it was almost written to be put on the screen. If you want a book which will keep you entertained then I would recommend The Painted Man. It has certainly made me want to download the sequels.

A great book that packs in enough detail to keep you interested, but not so much that you lose interest.



The narrator was superb.

As the title says. I loved listening to the book, it was just very entertaining for me.

Fear not, Arnie does not read all of it.



I was worried that he would read the whole book. Thankfully Stephen Lang was hired to finish the job. Arnie’s style of narrating just didn’t sound right to me and made for difficult listening.



Over all it was a good insight to the man. I do think it is maybe part of a PR campaign to recover his image. The other thing which stuck out was the references to his 'amazing wife'. Just seemed like this book was a way of sucking up to her to get her back.



Over all a great read.

John Steinbeck said "I've done my damndest to rip a reader's nerves to rags," about this book.



He achieved this with me.



By the end of it I felt battered. It has the effect of making you feel greatful for the things we have yet strangely depressed.



There is no point critiquing this book too much it's been done to death and is an established classic. But I'll just say it was very well read and a great story. A must read.

I couldn't stop listening to this book. It's was highly entertaining and had a gripping plot. To top it off the narration was incredible, mr Gardner really made the characters come to life.

However, I have always thought Stephen struggles to write proper endings to his books. I can't put my finger on it but in a lot of his books I've found the ending to be lacking something, for me this book is no different.

MILD SPOILER ALERT
If you're a devout atheists you may find the strong religious theme a bit too hard to swallow towards the end and abused in order to get the ending over with. Being a king novel you are always going to get a religious/supernatural theme but one scene towards the end I was simply unable to suspend my disbelief.
FINISHED SPOILING.


Over all I wold say this book is more about the journey it takes you on rather than the final destination. It's interesting and gripping. I wish I could forget it so I can read it again.

...for me at least.

I wasnt expecting this book to be so detailed. I found alot of it just went over my head. If you are studying this subject then I am sure this is the book for you. If you are just looking for some thing to listen to while driving just to entertain then look else where. I had to stop after the first section.

Well narrated and I am sure for the right person this is a 5 star book.